Ensure the safety of judges

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Managing Editor ANTONIETA B. LOPEZ Business Editor ODETTE MONTELIBANO Desk Editor MARY ANN BARCELONA Advertising Coordinator RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete

ANDRES R. LEONARDIA Managing Director

The treacherous murder of Judge Henrich Gingoyon of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court on Saturday has brought back the focus on the perils of the position, and especially for those who apply the law in a manner that is, as the saying goes, "without fear or favor".

This is not the first time in the country where a judge involved in a high-profile case had been mercilessly killed, obviously by hired guns. There has even been a case involving some scions of prominent families where the judge was later found dead in his room, with indications pointing to a suicide. There had been attempts to show that the "suicide" was induced by guilt feelings over the decision, but, as later events showed, even the Supreme Court was convinced of his righteousness, and upheld him.

Like the country's journalists, therefore, judges have also become an endangered species in this country. It is ironical, but apparently, their common goals of getting at the truth, no matter who gets hurt, has earned for them hatred and roused the killer instinct among those whose power and untouchability they have disturbed.

Among the responses of the government to the plight of the country's judges was the proposal of the Justice Secretary to allow them to carry firearms. This has quickly drawn the protests of the advocates for a gunless society, but even without their opposition, it is doubtful if the judges themselves will welcome such a move. In the first place, are they ready to handle firearms, and even if they can, will they be capable of outshooting whoever are gunning for them?

The security of the judges, we believe, should be a major concern of the Supreme Court itself, who should waste no time in providing guards for them. After all, the High Court has greatly increased its income with the much higher fees it is now charging litigants, and it can well afford to pay for the security of its judges.

Any more killing of our judges may soon lead to a reduction of their numbers, not only by death but by resignations or lack of aspirants for the office, further delaying the course of justice in the country. The administration of real justice is, more than anything, what keeps democracy alive here today.*